About Us

I received my doctorate in Health and Social Psychology from North Dakota State University in 2005. I also hold MS and BS degrees in Psychology from Montana State University – Billings. I completed a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington’s Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors in 2007. Prior to joining the UNTHSC School of Public Health in 2018, I was a member of the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington from 2007 to 2017. Throughout my career, I have focused on uncovering why adolescents and young adults engage in health-risk behavior and how we can, in turn, use that knowledge to identify protective and risk factors as well as prevent risk. My scholarly interests and pursuits focus on advancing the understanding of the dual processing nature of decisions to engage in health-risk behaviors and to inform theoretically sound and efficacious alcohol use and related risky sexual behavior interventions among adolescents and young adults. Alcohol use and concomitant risky sexual behavior are public health concerns (in terms of incidence and consequences) that often initiate during adolescence. Adolescents and young adults experience consequences associated with alcohol use and risky sexual behavior; thus, testing models with a focus on health-risk behaviors during adolescence and young adulthood is of critical importance. For many adolescents and young adults, when they begin drinking, they do so in an extreme fashion, with frequent heavy-episodic drinking episodes. Given the clear risks associated with heavy-episodic drinking (e.g., sexual assault, risky sexual behavior, injuries, death), why do so many adolescents and young adults begin or persist in known risky behaviors? What factors place some individuals at greater risk for negative consequences than others? How can we use our knowledge of risk and protective factors in interventions to reduce harm? These are precisely the type of questions my research seeks to answer. My research connects with my value to conduct research that has potential to make a significant impact to public health. I value research and policy that aims to expand prevention and intervention to adolescents and young adults. Our health services need to meet the needs of young adults and incorporate technology to bring preventative interventions to adolescents and young adults, with potential for significant impact on public health. My program of research has been funded by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, and the Alcohol Beverage Medical Research Foundation.

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Systems in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. I received my doctorate in Applied Social Psychology from The George Washington University in 2010. And completed a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington’s Center for the Study of Health and Risk Behaviors in 2012. Prior to joining the UNTHSC School of Public Health, I was a member of the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington from 2012 to 2017. The overarching goal of my work is to advance the field in understanding the social and environmental factors that influence health risk behavior decision-making in order to inform theoretically sound and efficacious substance use prevention efforts for adolescents and young adults. Consistent with my overarching interests in the influence of socially based variables on health risk behaviors, my current research aims to address questions related to the utility of including socially-based variables in prevention programming, particularly with respect to social images, social comparison, social norms (both for peers who abstain from alcohol and peers who use alcohol) and social networking sites. In my spare time I volunteer for a local dog rescue and enjoy exploring Fort Worth with my own rescue dog, Teddy.

I completed my undergraduate degree from the University of Florida (UF) in Biology.  While at UF I worked under Dr. Robert Leeman conducting research in his alcohol simulated bar laboratory.  My research interests include alcohol and other drug use and how they relate to risky sex and mental health.  While pursing my PhD. at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, I will be conducting research with both Dr. Dana Litt and Dr. Melissa Lewis in their Studying Alcohol and Related Risks (STARR) Laboratory.

I'm Annalynn Galvin, but I go by Anna for short. I'm a first-year PhD student at the University of North Texas Health Science Center's School of Public Health, studying Health Behavior Research. I am also a certified pediatric registered nurse with previous experience at a children's hospital and the Texas Department of State Health Services. I obtained my Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s of Science in Nursing with the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at Austin. My research interests primarily focus on using mixed-methods research with vulnerable maternal and child populations to improve sexual and reproductive health equity throughout the life course. My husband and I moved to Fort Worth from Austin, Texas, and we have a chocolate lab named Penny Lane and a calico cat named Lucy.

I am a first - year PhD Student at UNT Health Science Center. I will be studying Health Behavior Research under the mentorship of Drs. Melissa A. Lewis and Dana M. Litt in the STARR Lab. After completing my matriculation through Clark Atlanta University (Historically Black College and University), I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology. I also have a Master’s of Public Health from UNT Health Science Center with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences. My professional experience has primarily focused on the facilitation of Evidence Based Interventions and risk reduction among people living with HIV/AIDS and those who are high risk. I have also used my skills as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) conducting community outreach and education regarding STIs, STDs and health literacy. My primary research focus is in substance use and risky sexual behavior. I am interested in using mixed-method analysis in research as well as implementing Digital/App – based interventions. I have a heart for marginalized populations and my underlying aspiration is to not only create another seat at the table to address health disparities…but to build new tables in research that have never existed for those within racial, ethnic, gender and sexual minorities in hopes of health equity. 

I am a current medical student and DO/MPH candidate at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine-UNTHSC. I received my undergraduate degree from Trinity University with a B.S. in neuroscience and psychology. Prior to graduate school, I worked as a medical scribe in the emergency department and psychiatric in-patient settings. My research interests include substance use behavior intervention and prevention, health disparities and substance use, and community-based outreach. More specifically, I am interested in pursuing ways in which prevention and intervention strategies can be optimized to de-stigmatize substance use in the clinical setting to foster positive recovery and treatment experiences for patients.

I am a current graduate student at UNTHSC School of Public Health obtaining my Master of Science (M.S.) in Epidemiology. I am also a Graduate Research Assistant under Dr. Melissa Lewis and Dr. Dana Litt in their Studying Alcohol and Related Risks (STARR) Research Lab. I received my Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Microbiology from Texas Tech University (wreck em'). While at Texas Tech I conducted research on canine olfaction and behavior, more specifically, on intra- and inter-species social transmission of food preferences in domestic dogs at the Canine Olfaction Lab under Dr. Nathaniel Hall. Broadly, my research interests include infectious disease epidemiology, particularly STDs and HIV/AIDS, and the racial health disparities among the aforementioned diseases. In a more fun sense I love to build moss terrariums, go hiking, and I have two guinea pigs whose names are Suzy and Petunia.

I am a Research Assistant in Dr. Melissa Lewis’ and Dr. Dana Litt’s Studying Alcohol and Related Risks (STARR) Research Lab. I moved to Fort Worth from Mexico City in 2013 to pursue a college education and I obtained my B.S. in Psychology from Texas Wesleyan University. During my last year as an undergraduate student, I worked under the mentorship of Dr. Jay Brown on two research projects related to self-control. My research focused on measures of temporal discounting, a cognitive proxy for self-control, as related to measures of social discounting, probability discounting, and the cultural variables of individualism and collectivism. Post-graduation, I worked as a Research Assistant at 2M Research, a research firm dedicated to providing research services, program evaluation, and policy analysis to local and federal government agencies.

I am a Research Assistant in Dr. Melissa Lewis’ and Dr. Dana Litt’s Studying Alcohol and Related Risks (STARR) Research Lab. While completing my BA in Psychology at Westmont College, I was involved in research examining the effectiveness of situational awareness training for teachers with misbehaving students. My senior research project focused on how a religious conceptual prime and different types of religiosity influence prosocial behavior (behavior meant to benefit members of one’s ingroup). Although the psychology of religion and morality are still of interest to me, my career goal is to become a clinical psychologist. After graduation, I interned at a substance abuse treatment facility in Wyoming, gaining experience in clinical and case management roles. When my internship ended, I joined the STARR lab in search of the research experience needed to continue in clinical psychology.

I am a Research Assistant in Dr. Melissa Lewis’ and Dr. Dana Litt’s Studying Alcohol and Related Risks (STARR) Research Lab. I received my B.A. in Psychology with minors in Counseling and Spanish from the University of North Texas. During my undergraduate studies I was a research assistant and recruitment coordinator for the Teen Stress and Alcohol Research (St.A.R.) Laboratory directed by Dr. Heidemarie Blumenthal, working on research pertaining to adolescent anxiety and substance use. Post-graduation I worked as a full time project coordinator for the Mood and Psychopathology Laboratory under the mentorship of Dr. Camilo Ruggero where I oversaw a research grant pertaining to the HiTOP system. My research interests include the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders across the lifespan, as well as treatment outcomes in underrepresented and diverse individuals with intersecting identities.